


The color of hope

by yirisanqiuu



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Armin's mother owns a cafè, Blind Armin Arlert, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, pianist Armin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 14:35:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11359461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yirisanqiuu/pseuds/yirisanqiuu
Summary: He is just halfway through when he hears the creaking of a door and sees a boy walking past the counter and kissing the barista on the cheek. «Morning, mum» he says in a soft voice.«Good morning, honey. Your breakfast will be ready in five minutes.»Lucky bastard, is the only thing Eren is able to think. Being able to drink that holy chocolate every morning sounds like a true blessing. The new boy smiles and walks to the piano, a hand never leaving the counter.Eren never takes his eyes off him. He has blonde hair that goes down to his shoulder. The fringe covers his eyes, so he can't see them. The boy sits at the piano and caresses the keyboard, almost counting the keys.





	The color of hope

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, my first Shingeki no kyojin fanfiction - and what a fanfiction. Took me a month to copy it on the computer.  
> I hope you'll like it! It's pretty long, so... make sure you have a good half an hour to waste!

There is a big piano in their living room. Eren's been staring at it for quite a while now, sliding his hand over the velvety strip that covers the keyboard, pressing a key every now and then.

He doesn't really know why that piano's there, no one really knows how to play it in his family -well, he'd tried once when he was little. Almost broke the toy piano because it wouldn't sound right. His mother said that she liked it there, that it was nice with the curtains and the table in the newly decorated living room. 

Still, Eren doesn’t understand. But he likes that change. Each key has its own sound, and it's fun to play with them. At least he knows he's not going to break it this time. 

«It's not gonna move, y'know that?» says Mikasa walking by him. He's sitting on the floor in front of the piano, his legs crossed. «I know» Eren says back, letting her ruffle his hair. «It's just weird.» 

«What's weird?»

«The piano. It doesn't seem like anyone is gonna play it for real.»

«Well, no one knows how to play it. Don't think too much.»

And with that being said, she just leaves. Eren goes back staring at the piano and sighs. It looks like an untamed beast, kept there against its will and with no one who knows how to control it.

It feels trapped, and he feels the same way.

 

He's left home early in the morning, and has been walking for hours. He's not wearing his headphones, they're still on his desk. The streets aren't that crowdy yet, but there are some cars turning around the corner or stopping at the streetlight.

Eren's bought a cream puff pastry in a shop and now he's got icing sugar all around his mouth. His fingers are still a little sticky from the cream, but he doesn’t care about it. He hasn't even noticed, to be honest. All of his attention is glued on the world around him, on the small details no one but him seems to notice.

Some water is dripping from the platform roof of a café, and the first buds have started to grow between the leaves. He even sees a couple of robins flying above his head. Eren's filling his head with details, and colours, and sounds. The cars running by him, the whining of a puppy, the sound of a new message on his phone. He quickly checks it and of course it's Mikasa, asking where he is.

"Town" he simply answers and puts the phone back in his phone.

The streets are starting to fill up with people and more noises. Eren looks around and sees mothers and children, a driver starts honking at the car in front of his. It's too much for him, too noisy. He quickly walks away and finds a safe shelter away from everyone in a small café.

No one is inside, just the woman behind the counter. There is a sweet smell, like chocolate, donuts and sugar, but he can also smell the strong scent of coffee. There's a piano there too, standing against the wall. Lots of pictures are hanged on the wall above.

«Good morning sweetheart. What can I offer you?» says the woman with a smile as he approaches. Eren smiles as well and nods slightly. «Good morning. Can I have a… a cup of chocolate, please? Large one» he says.

«Sure can do. Just wait a minute, you can sit if you want» says the woman, turning around. The boy looks around and sits at the table that's closer to the piano. He looks at it, it's old and the wooden surface looks ruined and scratched. He's sure that it's a little off-key as well. A magnificent, tamed beast left there all by itself.

«Here you go, dear. You can pay when you're done» the barista arrives and puts a large cup of hot chocolate in front of him. Eren thanks her. «Excuse me… does the piano work?» he asks almost shyly. The woman smiles. «Yes it does. Clients can play it too, if they want.»

«Oh, no, no» Eren shakes his hands and blushes. «I can't play. I was just… curious.»

The barista laughs quietly. «It's okay. It's my son who usually plays the piano. If you wait a while, he should be about to come down.»

Eren nods and murmurs a "thank you", and the woman goes back behind the counter. The chocolate is sweet and warm, and he sips super slowly to taste it at its best. He is just halfway through when he hears the creaking of a door and sees a boy walking past the counter and kissing the barista on the cheek. «Morning, mum» he says in a soft voice.

«Good morning, honey. Your breakfast will be ready in five minutes.»

 _Lucky bastard_ , is the only thing Eren is able to think. Being able to drink that holy chocolate every morning sounds like a true blessing. The new boy smiles and walks to the piano, a hand never leaving the counter.

Eren never takes his eyes off him. He has blonde hair that goes down to his shoulder. The fringe covers his eyes, so he can't see them. The boy sits at the piano and caresses the keyboard, almost counting the keys.

When he starts playing, Eren finds himself holding his breath. He doesn’t know the name of the piece, but it sounds beautiful, flawless. The notes take their own shape and float in front of him in gracious and fluid dances, making colours bloom on the black of his eyelids.

The chocolate in his cup is getting cold, but Eren doesn't care. Thank God he'd left a book in his bag, or he would have looked awfully dumb sitting there to listen to that boy playing the piano.

 

Going to that café has become a habit, now. Every morning Eren walks around the city for a while, then he finds himself engulfed in the warm atmosphere of the café and sits there for a couple of hours. Sometimes the blond boy is already playing, on other days he has to wait for him, and just when he's about to leave, the mysterious pianist opens the door and he has to find an excuse to stay.

In a month he's drank more chocolate than he's ever done in his whole life- same goes for books. His mother has gotten worried seeing the pile of novels on his desk getting higher and higher.

He just didn't have much more to do at the café, did he?

Listening to the boy's music feels nice. It's almost like a lullaby, that calms him down and makes him almost fall asleep. He really doesn’t understand why there's always so little people at the café. If it was for him, he'd organize concerts in there.

It's Monday. Eren's sitting at a small table in the corner of the café with a cup of chocolate in front of him and a book between his hands. He's discovered Tolkien two weeks before and has been reading his book ever since. The blond pianist is caressing the keyboard, but he's not really playing.

The barista arrives in a hurry, holding a bag against her chest. «Eren! I'm sorry, really, but I have an important errand. Is it a problem if you stay here for a little longer until I come back? There's not much to do, if some clients come in just tell them that the owner is not here and that you can't make drinks. Armin can help you if they want information» she pleads, pointing at the boy at the piano that slightly raises his head as his name is called.

_Armin, huh?_

Eren smiles sweetly and nods. «It's okay, Mrs. Anna. I can wait.»

«Thank you so much dear, you're an angel.»

The woman smiles back and kisses her son's head, ruffling his hair. «I'll be back as soon as possible. See you later!»

Eren looks at the door closing with a soft click, and then moves his gaze to Armin. The boy has slightly straightened his back and his hands are not on the keyboard anymore. «We should turn the placard, or people will keep coming» he says. «It'll be easier that way, I don't trust myself enough with clients.»

His voice is soft and kind, not too high nor too low.

The other boy nods and walks to the door, turning the placard in order to have the side with "closed" written on it facing the street. He then goes back to his place and takes his book, turning a page.

«What are you reading?»

Eren raises his head. Armin is sitting towards him, his slender legs on each side of the piano stool. He still can't properly see his face, as he's keeping his head low and the fringe covers his eyes.

« _The_   _Silmarillion_ » answers Eren. «By Tolkien.»

«Heard it's a really difficult book.»

«It's long, more than difficult. And it's got the weirdest names, I swear!»

Eren quickly flips a few pages and points at a word, raising the book in front of Armin's face. «I mean, look at this! How do you pronounce this name? I didn't even such letters existed!»

Armin smiles and raises his hands in front of him, his fingers moving slowly as if they were searching something in the air, until they hold the book. «I'm afraid I can't help you when it comes to reading.»

«Why not?»

«I'm blind.»

And now Eren can see his whole face, because Armin has raised his head. His eyes are big and of a pale blue, but it's almost like they're blurred. And Eren calls himself dumb, because he'd always noticed the way Armin never looked at his mother when they talked, and the way he never moved his hand from the counter when he moved around. And yet he'd never thought that he could be blind, because  _blind people can't play the piano, can they?_

Apparently the can.

«I-I'm sorry» Eren stutters, lowering his head. «That was very rude of me.»

«It's okay. It's not like I have a giant sign over my head saying "Attention please, walking blind"» Armin laughs. «Well, I think. Did my mother put something like that over the piano? If so then yes, you were being rude.»

«Nothing like that» Eren says holding his laugh back. «It's just that… you play the piano, so I thought that… yeah, y'know. That was dumb.»

«You're forgiven» Armin says, and Eren tries to thank him but then the blond boy raises a finger. «You're forgiven,  _but_  only if you let me see you. It's awkward if you talk with someone and don't even know what they look like.»

Eren nods and clears his voice, looking at the blond boy. «S-so, how do we do thi-»

«Gimme your hands!»

Armin raises his arms and shows the palm of his hands; they're much smaller than Eren's, he can tell just by watching. The boy obeys to the gentle order, and Armin holds his hands, touching carefully each finger and tracing every small scar.

«You get in a lot of fights, don't you» the pianist says with a tiny smile. Eren furrows his eyebrows. «Used to. I was an arrogant kid.»

«You're not anymore?»

«Do I look like one?»

«Dunno. How do you  _look_?»

Eren laughs. «Aren't you trying to find out, Armin?» he says, and Armin smiles back. «Now your face» he says raising his hands. Eren guides them to his cheeks, and thin fingers touch his skin, sliding over his eyes, nose and lips, before tugging gently at his hair.

«You look fine» he says at the end, poking his nose. Eren smiles and feels his cheeks get warmer, and hopes Armin doesn't notice it. «Can you play some more?» he asks. Armin arches one of his thin eyebrows, and his face is so expressive that it's almost funny.

 _Cute_ , thinks Eren, though.

«Do you like listening to me?» asks the pianist, sitting straight. At first Eren nods, but then he remembers. «Yes. I like the way you do it. It's like you play with your whole body.»

Armin smiles. «It's the only way I know to show my emotions.»

«Show me, then» the brunette says, and maybe he sounds a little bit too flirty, but then Armin smiles like he's just been offered the best challenge of his life and turns to the piano, gently placing his fingers onto the keys.

He starts playing, and Eren can do nothing but smile.

 

«Armin, how do you play?»

Eren's been wondering since the day he's found out that the pianist is blind. Armin raises his head a little and cutely scrunches his nose, playing with a strand of blond hair. «… With my hands?» he asks laughing.

Eren pouts and punches his arm without really hurting him. «I'm being serious!» he whines, moving his chair closer. Armin laughs whole-heartedly this time, and his shoulders tremble a little. «So am I! You can't just say stuff like "how do you play" and expect a serious answer.»

The brunette groans and looks at him, holding his face with his hands. «No offense Armin, but… you're pretty blind.»

Talk about tact.

Armin raises an eyebrow and nods. «Yeah Eren, I  _am_  pretty blind» he says turning towards him. «So what.»

Eren scratches the back of his head and bites his lower lip before answering. «How do you know which keys are which? Do you know the position by heart?» 

«Kinda» the pianist smiles and raises an arm towards him. «I've got my little secrets and tricks» he says. When he feels that Eren's not moving, he shakes his arm. «Hand» then orders, and the brunette obeys.

Armin pulls him a little and puts his fingers onto the keyboard, right next to his own. «This piano is pretty old, and some of the keys are not as smooth as they used to be» he explains. His slender fingers touch the keys, as if they're looking for something in particular, and maybe they are. When they find that something, he tugs at Eren's hand. «Close your eyes and touch here» he says. «This key is C. I recognize it because it's got this thin cut in the middle. After I've found this key I can move on the keyboard pretty easily.»

«I could never do it» Eren says, pressing the key with his finger. «Cos you're dumb» is the quick answer from the boy. Eren hears Anna laugh quietly from behind the counter and flushes. «I'm not!» he says whining.

«You are.»

«I am not!»

«Are.»

« _Not._ »

Armin laughs following his arm with a hand and pets his hair, smiling. «Okie dokie.~»

And Eren has to bite his lower lip, both because Armin has just made the cutest sound ever and because he's sure that now he has gooseflesh all over his arm where the pianist's fingers have passed.

«Will you teach me?» he asks in a whisper, putting a hand over Armin's wrist. The blond has his head turned towards him, and it's almost like he's looking at him with his blurred eyes. «I'm no teacher, Eren» he says turning his arm, and their fingers almost touch.

«And I'm a really, really terrible student» says Eren with a smirk. «If there was such a mark, I'd get a Z in all of my classes.»

Armin laughs. «Yet you tell me that you're not dumb» he says tenderly, and Eren laughs as well. «Cos I'm not interested in it! But I truly care about this» he answers pressing a key.

The pianist shakes his head and smiles, sighing happily. «All right, I'll teach you» he finally says. «But I'm telling you this, I won't go easy on you.»

«I don't want you to» Eren murmurs. Their hips are close and their arms sometimes brush one against the other. Armin's voice is soft and clear as he speaks, and Eren finds himself not being able to remove his gaze from him.

 

The piano in his home takes a whole new meaning, since he's started learning. The hours he spent touching the keyboard without knowing what he was doing are now spent learning how to  _really_ play.

Learning with Armin is weird. He doesn’t use any music sheet, and does everything by ear- and what an ear. He is usually kind and patient, but sometimes he has bad thoughts and his eyes look more dull than usual and his voice gets sharp and dangerous. In those occasions, Eren tries to play as smoothly as he could in order to not make him snap.

Sometimes, especially when there's other people in the café, Armin's incredibly shy, and his voice gets softer and lower. But when it's just the two of them, he's comfortable and snuggly.

And he's cute. So cute that Eren's heart hurts every time he looks at him.

«You're different» Mikasa says one morning, looking at him from above her cup of milk. It's Sunday and the café's closed, so no lesson for him. Eren grunts and reaches for the cereals before his sister finishes them. «Am I?» he asks nonchalantly, stuffing a spoonful of cheerios into his mouth.

«Duh. You're not constantly daydreaming anymore, and you started playing the piano  _for real_. And just this morning I heard you sing the last movement from the Moonlight Sonata while you were showering. You seemed pretty into it» Mikasa notices, raising an eyebrow.

Carla laughs, turning towards them. «Maybe our Eren is in love» she jokes.

Mikasa sighs and tries to tell her that that's not how nowadays crushes look like, and that a person in love doesn't yell angrily Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in the shower, and after all they're always talking about  _Eren_.

Eren that has just spat all of his milk and cheerios on the floor and is now coughing hard, trying to breathe, with cheeks redder than a tomato.

«Are you- are you nuts?» he asks drying his teary eyes, before he receives a weak slap on his name that makes him whine. «Language, young boy» his mother threatens him, turning back to the sink to take a cloth to wipe the floor. «I don't see what's wrong with being in love. You're not a kid anymore, and I'd be more than happy if I met your girlfriend.»

Eren laughs nervously, and pushes the cup of milk away. He's not hungry anymore. «I think you'd be disappointed, mum» he murmurs. Carla gives him the now wet cloth, smiling. «Let me decide whether I have to be disappointed or not, Eren» she says. «And now clean the mess you've made. I thought the puke phase had ended about seventeen years ago.»

 

Eren doesn't know how they've ended up like this. Or maybe he does, but he's too scared to think about it. He just knows that he and Armin were walking down a street and the pianist looked even cuter than usual, and his hair looked so nice and his lips so soft that he'd just pressed his against them.

And they really were as soft as he thought, and the small gasp that escaped Armin's mouth almost makes him smile.

_Almost, though._

It's in that moment that he realizes what's actually happening and snaps. He moves away so quickly that Armin almost loses his balance, and when he raises his hands to get him he's nowhere to be found.

«Eren..?» the blind boy calls, but Eren doesn't answer. Instead he runs away ignoring the calls, the houses and shops look blurred at his sides and the breath is stuck in his throat.

He runs and runs until he's back home, and only then he realizes that he's dripping wet and there's heavy rain hitting the window. A trembling breath escapes his lips and Eren crouches with his head between his hands, feeling hot tears form in his eyes; because he's fucked up and he's fucked up badly, and Armin now probably doesn't even want to see him again.

But then he thinks at the way he's left the young pianist, at the hurting in his eyes when he'd left, and decides that he doesn’t want that look to be the last memory of him. He hears his mother's steps and he quickly grabs a coat and an umbrella and goes out again yelling a "I'd forgotten something." 

He runs again with the coat held against his chest under the jacket to keep it from getting wet and the rain soaking his shoes and socks, but he doesn't care. The shops look even more blurred than before, and he doesn’t know if it's because of the rain or because of the tears. 

He almost trips when he arrives to the place where he'd left Armin. The boy is crouched under a tree with the hood of his sweatshirt covering his head, and his clothes are completely soaked. 

Eren bites his lower lip and slowly walks towards him, almost shyly. «A-Armin…» 

«You left me» murmurs the blind boy, voice weak and almost inaudible under the rain. The other boy lowers his head and moves closer. «I… I'd forgotten the umbrella» he lies, but he knows it's no use.

«You ran away from me» Armin notices, and for once Eren is glad that his eyes are dull and blind, because he wouldn't be able to stand his gaze. He lowers his head even more in shame, tears threatening to roll down his cheeks. «I'm sorry…» 

Armin sneezes and Eren is quick to cover him with the umbrella. «I-I have a coat with me!» he says, lending it to the boy. Armin accepts it, and he looks so tiny in that coat -too big for his slender body- that Eren feels his heart ache.

«I'll take you home» he murmurs, and the pianist nods, holding onto his sleeve. Eren lets him, and his fingers are cold. The more his hands get warmer, the worse he feels about leaving him there. 

«I'm sorry» he repeats, shame painted all over his face. He can already see the café and he knows that he's not ready to let the other boy go. «I… I did something really stupid and I hurt you. I don't know what to say…»

Armin's fingers slide between his and Eren starts, surprised. He can't properly see the pianist's face due to the hood of his sweatshirt, but he knows that his fringe is covering his eyes. He always does it when negative thoughts flood into his mind.

«You did do something really stupid» Armin says in a small voice. Eren can just turn his head to the other side, but his friend's next words have him jolt and his neck makes an unpleasant noise as he faces him again. He's not sure if he's heard it right too.

«C-could you repeat?» he asks, and his voice trembles a little.

«I said that, it's not what you think that hurt me» the pianist says. His head is still low and his fingers are trembling in Eren's grasp, and he doesn't know what to do. «You mean..?» he whispers, uncertain.

Armin sighs and rises his head, and Eren can finally see it. The way his cheeks are colored in a soft red that only makes him look cuter, and he's sure that his own ears have the same colour now.

«Feeling you run away from me is what hurt me» the pianist says, and Eren really doesn't know how he's able to keep his voice from trembling. But then Armin holds his hand a little stronger, and his blush just becomes more evident, as his free hand clutches onto the coat's hem. «I… liked the kiss, tho» he murmurs shyly.

Eren feels like his heart might explode by any second now, and he doesn't know if he should cry, scream or just stay still. In the end he chooses to laugh, and does it so loudly that a couple of people running for a warm place turn to look at him.

«What's so funny?» Armin whines, and weakly hits his arm. Eren just laughs harder and louder, and he just doesn't seem to be able to stop. «N… nothing» he tries, gasping for breath. «It's- it's just that… I thought I had fucked up with our friendship because I have kissed you and boys don't usually kiss boys like that, but I just couldn't keep it inside of me and thought that you really look cuter than usual today and I just went for it but then I got scared and…»

«Eren!»

Armin has called his name with all of his heart and has found his face. His fingers aren't cold anymore, and they're soft against his cheeks. Eren shuts up immediately, because the pianist is so close to him he can almost feel his warm breath on his skin and his face is so flushed that it's almost unbearable.

«You're forgiven» breathes Armin, fingers sliding from Eren's face to his neck, then past his collarbones until his palms are laying flat on his chest. «You're forgiven, b-but… only if you kiss me again. Without running away, this time.»

Eren feels like he could scream and cry, and laugh again. And for a moment he's tempted to turn on his heels and run away, because he's literally so scared to fuck things up that he's  _this_  close to piss his pants. But he doesn't.

Instead he raises a hand and caresses Armin's hair, watching as he almost melts against his palm and the way his nose scrunches adorably, before leaning.

Armin's lips are soft and warm against his, his hands against his chest are trembling and he can feel that the young pianist is holding his breath. Now that he thinks about it, he's also standing on his tiptoes. Eren smiles and holds him closer, a hand between his golden locks and the other resting on his lower back. Armin's fingers grip onto the brunette's jacket at first, but then go higher and higher until they reach the back of Eren's head and rest there, tugging gently at his hair.

The umbrella falls at their feet but neither of them seems to notice. Eren can just think about the way Armin feels against his mouth, and the soft noises escaping from his lips are just too much for his own young, weak heart.

It's stopped raining, but the ground could tremble beneath them and neither of them could care less.

 

«Armin's sick» Anna says as soon as she sees Eren entering the café two days later. The boy looks up with a surprised and worried expression painted on his face, and he's quick to move closer to the counter. «What? How sick is he?»

«Enough for keeping him in bed all day long, I fear» the woman answers with a sigh, and Eren bites his lower lip. It must have been the rain, he thinks. He doesn’t think about it too much though, because just the memory of it causes his cheeks to turn red and a dumb smile creeps upon his lips -he knows it, Mikasa told him the night before when he saw his face.-

«Can I see him?» he asks impatiently, maybe a little too much and he knows him, because as soon as the words leave his mouth Anna is smiling and looking at him like only mothers do. And he knows he's fucked up bad. Again.

«I-I mean… you're busy here and he's alone and maybe he needs something or he's hungry, s-so…»

«Eren» she laughs, smiling sweetly. «I never said you couldn't. Armin's room is upstairs, second door on the left. Just remember that he gets quite whiny and clingy when he's sick.»

The boy's face lights up and he quickly thanks her, then he walks around the counter and enters the corridor he usually sees Armin come from.

The house where the blind boy lives is not too big, nor too small, but he likes it. On the walls there are lots of pictures hanged; Armin with his mom, with his grandfather, Armin at the beach in the cutest swimsuit he's ever seen -and it's definitely not because it's Armin, Eren swears.-

The farther he walks, the older Armin gets in the photos. There's a picture of him in grade school, his face is slightly chubby and he's missing two teeth in the front.  _Cute_ , thinks Eren with a small laugh. In another picture there's Armin at the piano, a small finger pressed onto a key.

He's older in the next one, and his hair is tied neatly in a ponytail. The picture at the end of the corridor almost makes him choke on air. He  _is_  in the photo, sitting at his usual table, and he and Armin are both laughing. The blond boy looks so beautiful that he immediately feels his cheeks turn red and warmer. Shaking his head he quickly reaches upstairs, remembering Anna's words. Second door on the left. He finds it open, and silently slips inside.

Armin is curled up under the covers, his golden hair sticking to his sweaty forehead and cheeks red even in the darkness. Eren smiles and sits on the floor next to his head, caressing his head.

The boy shifts and yawns, and his eyelids flutter. «Moooom» he whines with a raspy voice, and Eren's heart clutches because  _damn_ , how cuter can he get? «I'm not your mom, I'm sorry» he says with a smile.

«Mhn…» Armin lazily raises a hand and follows his arm, reaching for his face to poke his nose. «Eren» he mumbles, and the boy laughs. «Yup. Hello, sick-boy.»

He moves a little closer and bumps their noses before kissing him. The pianist's lips are warm against his, and his hands slip to the back of his head to caress his hair. Then after a while Armin backs up and hides his face against the pillow, mumbling happily as Eren starts to play with his hair. «Don’t stop» he demands, and the brunette laughs. «Yes, sir.»

The golden strands between his hair feel like silk. Armin hums in approval, but then he's tugging at his arm. «C'mere, please. I'm cold» he pleads. Eren sits on the bed and the blind boy hugs his hips. «Noo, under the covers» he says. «With a book? Pretty please?»

«But my clothes…» Eren says hesitantly, but Armin shakes his head. «I don’t care. I wanna hug you.»

Whiny. Whiny, clingy and extremely cute. Eren can only smile and peck his forehead. «What should we read?» he asks.

«Mh, anything's fine» mumbles Armin. «Nothing gory, tho. I wouldn't trust my stomach too much.»

The brunette laughs and pats his forearm. «Alright then. I have to get up though, I fear you have to let me go for a few seconds. I've got a new book today, just let me get it and then I'm all yours.»

«I like this idea» says the blind boy with a big smile. «But under the covers. It's warmer here.»

Eren smiles and rushes to his backpack, taking the book between his hands and removing at least his pullover. He doesn't have the heart to tell Armin that he feels way too hot, and that the room is stuffy and too dark to read. Suddenly he has an idea.

«What about we go to the living room?» he asks, turning towards the bed. «I saw there's a sofa, we can bring blankets with us and make ourselves comfy. It's pretty stuffy in here, I really don't know how you can survive.»

«It's 'cause I'm sick, you dummy» Armin jokes, but then he nods. «Alright. But you'll have to help me get there. I feel like my legs are made of jelly, and I'm not even out of bed yet.»

«Alright, then you're gonna help me carry the stuff.»

Eren takes a couple of warm blankets from a chair and helps the blind boy to sit up. He then puts both the blankets and the book between his arms and carries him bride-style to the living room, earning a surprised squeak. «Eren! That scared me!» Armin whines, and the brunette laughs. «I'm sorry. I'll tell you next time.»

He gently puts him down on the sofa and after a few minutes they're ready to go: Eren pressed against the backrest and Armin curled up at his side, their legs tangled and his head against a shoulder.

«You ready?» Eren asks, and Armin hums. The brunette kisses his forehead and holds him closer, opening his book. He starts reading with a soft voice, drawing imaginary circles on the other boy's shoulder with his free hand. «"The studio was filled with the rich odor of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn."»

Armin hums in approval and turns his head against his neck. «Dorian Gray?» he asks in a soft voice. Eren nods lightly against his hair. «Do you like it?»

«It's my favorite book.»

The blind boy puts one of his warm hands under Eren's t-shirt, tapping lightly his fingers onto his skin. «Go on, please.»

Eren shivers, because he's so ticklish but Armin's skin is warm and soft and helps him relax. When he starts to read again, his voice is lower and sweet. Armin hides his face against the brunette's neck, his lips brush against his skin every time he breathes.

He falls asleep sooner than he'd expected, curled up against Eren's side. The boy's voice fades in a whisper, and Eren kisses Armin's forehead, holding him closer.

 

«Try this, Armin.»

Eren holds gently the boy's wrist and puts the pint flavored ice-cream between his fingers. Armin gives it a hesitant lick and his face lightens up. «It's delicious!» he exclaims, and Eren laughs. «It is, isn't it? I knew you'd like it.»

Armin nods furiously and offers his own ice-cream to the other boy. «Try mine, too.»

Eren does it, and his lips form a cute pout. «It's good, but I wouldn't take it for me. Chocolate ice-cream is not my thing.»

«Eeeh? But it's delicious» Armin whines, pouting. The brunette boy laughs. «I'm sorry… it's just that it doesn't taste like real chocolate, you get me?»

«You know nothing» Armin mumbles, eating his ice-cream. Eren grins. «I ain't Jon Snow, Ygritte» he says, and the blind boy laughs. «Are you saying that I'm a Wildling, you nerd?»

«Hey, she was pretty hot in the TV show!»

«Was she really?»

And Eren halts, and sees he flash of worry and hurt that passes through Armin's face. He quickly hugs him and kisses his lips, and he tastes like chocolate and maybe it's not that bad.

«You're hotter» he whispers against his sweet mouth, and he sees that Armin's face is flushed again. «And more beautiful, and kinder, and softer.»

The blind boy raises an eyebrow. «How do you know that I'm softer?»

«Rose Leslie definitely doesn't have these cheeks» Eren says with a cheeky smile, poking his jowl. Armin smiles and kisses his mouth once again. «You sycophantic» he whispers, and the brunette grins. «Hey, you wanna come over? I've always wanted to show you my piano.»

«Okay! Is your family home? I wanna meet them.»

«Dunno. I doubt it, tho. My parents are at work and my sister's at the library. She's studying for an exam.»

Armin nods, finishing his ice-cream. «What is she studying?»

«Some law stuff. She wants to become a lawyer.»

«Sounds difficult.»

«It is, but she's clever. I know she'll have no problems.»

They walk silently, Armin's fingers laced onto Eren's. he starts humming a song and the latter smiles. «We're almost there» he says, and the blind boy squeezes his hand. «I'm nervous» he reveals. «I don't know how your house looks, and feels and smells. Do you have lots of pictures hanged? Do you share a room with your sister? 'Cause my cousin did, and he said it was the most terrible thing.»

«I did when I was little, but then we grew up and she got another room. And no, we don't have lots of pictures, we keep them in a photo album.» And Eren is secretly glad, because his photos are honestly the most embarrassing thing on earth, and he knows that if her mother happened to find out about him and Armin she wouldn't think twice before showing them to him.

He then remembers something and smiles, tugging at Armin's arm. «Did you know that your mom hanged a picture of us in your house's corridor?»

«What?!»

Armin's answer is so quick that he almost falls, stumbling on his own feet. Eren helps him regain his balance and laughs, ruffling his hair. «It's okay really, it's a cute picture. No weird faces or something embarrassing» he reassures him.

The blind boy releases an exasperated sigh. «She could have told me though» he mumbles, and Eren holds him closer. «I like it, though. And talking about that, I think she knows about us.»

«Of course she does. Why shouldn't she?»

Eren chokes on his saliva and coughs, tears forming in his eyes. «What? Does she?»

«Duh» Armin cackles, a hand covering his lips. «I mean, can you be more obvious? You're all over me all the time, and your voice when we talk… it's like you're touching something really precious with it, you get me? I can only imagine how you  _look_  when we are together. She really likes you, y'know?»

Eren mumbles something unintelligible, his ears and cheeks almost on fire. Thank God they've arrived, he couldn't bear any more of that cuteness/embarrassment. He gently guides Armin in and shows him the house -«Here's the kitchen, here's Mikasa's room. This is my room DONTENTERITSTOODIRTY and here's the bathroom»-. He finally guides him to the living room, putting his hand on the piano. «Here it is» he says with a smile.

Armin's fingers travel on the velvet-covered keyboard and the boy holds his breath. Eren is sure that if he puts a hand over his chest, he'll feel his heart racing. «It feels wonderful…» he whispers, moving his hand over the lid. The surface is perfect, with not a single scratch, so different from his old, way cheaper piano.

Eren's hands gently caress his arms and he subconsciously shivers. «You can play it, if you want» the brunette says, and his voice is so soft and tender that it could probably lull him to sleep and he'd be 100% okay with that.

Armin slowly shakes his head and holds one of his hands, putting it on the keyboard next to his. «Let's play together?» he asks. The other boy smiles and nods. «Alright.»

They sit hip thip, their elbows touching. Armin puts only one hand over the keys, touching them and trying to get more comfortable with the different piano. Eren gently holds his wrist and puts his thumb over the C. «It's here» he says, gently pressing the key. The blind boy smiles and murmurs a "thank you", before he starts to play.

Eren recognizes the piece, but he's not able to give it a title. Armin's playing the right hand's part, so he starts to play the left one's. They're so clumsy and uncoordinated at first, but they soon find their own rhythm.

It's a slow song. Eren's heard it at the radio. At a certain point he stops looking at the keyboard in order to look at the other boy. Armin's lips are slightly parted and his cheeks are slightly red. Eren looks at him and doesn't even realize that he's stopped playing until Armin turns his head towards him and calls his name.

He doesn't answer. Instead he leans closer and kisses him, a hand against his nape. The blind boy stops breathing and sinks both his hands in his hair, kissing him back.

Eren sighs and holds him closer, a hand pressed against his lower back and the other between his golden locks, caressing his neck every now and then. Armin's mouth is soft and warm, and even when the kiss intensifies he's still shy and tender.

«You're so beautiful» the brunette says against his mouth, he kisses his neck and Armin shivers. Everything is confused from that moment on. Eren doesn't know how he's ended up with him and the blind boy pressed against the door of his room, their hands wandering. Armin feels the wooden surface behind him and the door swings open when he finds the knob.

«Be careful» Eren whispers, helping him move around in the mess that is his room, and finally lies him down on the bed.

«E-Eren» Armin writhes when the brunette kisses his neck, gently biting his flesh. He flushes madly when he feels Eren's hands slip under his hoodie, fingers brushing against his tummy. «Can I?» the boy breathes against his lips, and Armin nods.

The hoodie is soon tossed somewhere and Eren's hands are everywhere again. The blind boy raises a hand and presses the back of it against his mouth, feeling his cheeks grow more and more flushed as Eren runs his long fingers across his bare chest.

The brunette's eyes are fixed on his pale skin, on the way he squirms and shivers every time he touches a sensitive spot. There's a small scar above Armin's hipbone, he kisses it and the boy gasps.

«Eren.»

Armin calls his name, voice muffled by the hand. Eren kisses his palm and rests his forehead against the other boy's, breathing softly. «God, you're so beautiful» he whispers.

The blind boy raises a hand and caresses his cheek, then his jaw, his lips. «I wanna see you» he whispers kissing his mouth. «I wanna…»

«I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.»

Armin feels himself being lifted and before he knows it he's sitting on Eren's lap, his hands resting against his hips. Then, his lips. Soft and warm, moving against his. The young pianist finds the hem of his pullover and slowly pulls it up, their lips disconnecting only so that Eren can put it away.

Armin's hands are slightly cold. The boy puts them onto Eren's neck and then moves them around, feeling his warmer skin and his muscles, a focused expression painted on his face despite his flushed cheeks. When Eren sighs he rises his head. «Is… is this fine?» he asks softly.

The boy smiles and nods, caressing his lower back. «Yes. Definitely is.»

«Good then.»

Armin's hands reach his face and he kisses him full-lips, whining quietly when Eren licks his lower lip. The brunette's arms circle his waist and hold him closer, Armin breathes and in a second his back is pressed against the mattress and Eren's face is buried against his neck.

Love is sweet, and warm. Eren's lips never leave his skin, whether it's his forehead, his neck or his mouth. His hands are trembling when they hold Armin closer, caressing his chest and tummy and  _lower_ , and then they go higher again and he intertwines their fingers above the pianist's head.

And Armin shivers and writhes beneath him, and his expression is so beautiful and  _pure_ , despite everything, that Eren wishes he had a camera to save that moment forever.

And then it stops, time like frozen. Their limbs tangled and hands resting one on top of the other. Eren's free hand runs through Armin's messy golden locks, his lips pressed against his temple. The pianist mumbles something incoherent and slowly opens his eyes.

«You okay?» he hears Eren whisper, and he shifts and nods. «Did I pass out?»

«I don't know. You were pretty relaxed tho.»

«Mh…»

Armin raises his head and searches his mouth, and Eren kisses him. The hand that was between his hair slides to his hip and the blind boy writhes for the tickly sensation, holding his wrist. «Don't. I'm too tired to avoid it» he whines, and the brunette laughs softly. «Alright. You're too cute now.»

«Shush.»

Armin hides his face against his neck, caressing his chest with a finger. «What time is it?» he asks. Eren raises an arm and searches his phone on the night-table, pressing the home button. «It's… seven thirty.»

«Shit… mom's gonna kill me» Armin sighs and runs a hand through his hair. «I've got to go… I'm sorry.»

«It's okay. It's my fault anyways, I'm the one who… y'know.»

«Dummy. You make it in two, you know… I mean…»

Eren smiles and their foreheads touch. «I know.  _Dummy._ »

Armin quickly kisses him and then sits on the bed, touching the floor for his clothes. He finds his boxers and pants and wears them, then his sweater. Eren growls and shifts on the mattress behind him, he raises a hand and caresses the boy's lower back. «You're not showering?» he murmurs. Armin shakes his head. «I've got no time. Plus, y'know… I smell like you now.»

And Eren is sure, that his ears are burning bright now. He sits and he reaches his clothes as well. «I'm walking you home, but let's grab a glass of water before» he proposes, and Armin agrees.

Eren intertwines their fingers and opens the door, guiding him to the kitchen. When they're there, however, he freezes.

«Hi, Eren» Mikasa says, bringing a glass of coke to her lips. She's sitting on the table, barefoot and with the loose and old clothes she uses when she's home.

Eren feels like he might die.

«H-how long have you been here?» he stutters. Armin at his side is silent and frozen in place, his grip on his hand is so strong that it almost hurts. Or, more probably, it  _does_  hurt, but Eren's too shocked to feel any sort of pain.

Mikasa arches a thin eyebrow and puts the glass down. «I've never left. Found out that the library was closed and I stayed in my room to sleep. Didn't last long tho.» She quickly jumps  off the table and walks towards them, scanning Armin with her eyes. «Is he your boyfriend?»

Eren now definitely wants to die, and when he glances at the at the boy next to him he asks for the floor to swallow him in that moment, because Armin's face is so red his body temperature must've risen of a couple dozens of degrees, and now that he looks better at him he sees that he's also wearing one of his sweaters.

_Oh._

«Oh» Eren murmurs, too shocked to say anything else. «Oh, yes. He… he's Armin. Armin, she, uh, she's my sister. Mikasa. The lawyer one.»

_Yeah, 'cause you have so many sisters that it's difficult to remember them all._

«Nice to meet you, Armin» Mikasa says with a smile, raising her right arm to shake his hand. The blind boy, however, doesn't move a single finger, his face lie it's stuck and holding his breath.

Mikasa gives him a puzzled look and moves back to Eren. «I think you broke him» she says simply. Her brother scoffs. « _I_ broke him? You're the one who, you know, started it.»

 _It's you the one who heard is fucking_ , he thinks, but he doesn't say it out loud. Instead he turns to Armin and squeezes his arm, bringing him back from his trance. «Armin» he whispers, and the boy turns his head towards him, almost mechanically. Eren smiles. «It's okay. Don't worry» he reassures him.

Armin finally seems to calm down, his face returns to an almost normal color -he's still blushing on his cheekbones, though- and he stops trembling. He instinctively hides under Eren's arm, hugging his waist. «N-nice to meet you» he says with a shy smile.

Mikasa smiles as well and moves closer, touching his arm. «Do you want to see me?» she asks gently, and the boy raises his head surprised. Eren smiles, because Mikasa is quick at reading situations and she's noticed the way Armin never leaves his arm, and how he only moves his head but not his eyes when someone talks.

Armin's grip around his waist loosens, and Eren feels him relax even more. «Can I  really?» he asks softly.

«Of course you can. Give me your hands.»

Mikasa gently holds his wrists and brings his hands to her face. Armin's touch is gentle as usual, and the more he stays, the more relaxed he becomes. «You look beautiful» he says in the end, and Mikasa laughs. «Thank you. Don't say it out loud, tho, Eren gets jealous really easily.»

And Eren scoffs because it's so true, and after all the first time Armin  _saw_ him, he said he looked just  _fine._

Armin smiles when the brunette's arm encircles his waist in a rather possessive way, and Eren's lips sink in his hair. «It was a pleasure to meet you, Mikasa» he says. The girls smirks. «I can say the same. Come more often, you play the piano marvelously.»

And the blind boy can't stop grinning after that.

 

Their way back to the café is silent. Armin's fingers are connected to Eren's, his thumb brushing against his back. When they're outside the shop, the brunette turns around and holds Armin between his arms. «Do you want me to come inside with you?» he whispers at his ear.

The blond shakes his head and hides his face against his neck. «It's okay. I'll manage somehow, tell her that we fell asleep and didn't look at the time» he hums. Eren holds him closer and closes his eyes, kissing Armin's earlobe. «I'll miss you» he whispers.

The pianist slowly caresses his back and raises his head. «I'll miss you more.»

Eren kisses him caressing his cheeks. Armin holds onto the front of his coat and stands on his tiptoes, giggling against his mouth when the brunette bites his lower lip. «Eren… I've got to go» he whines as Eren hides his face against his neck. «Five more minutes.»

«I can't, dummy. I'll call you later, okay?»

«Pinky promise?»

«Pinky promise.»

«Alright. I'll wait for you, then.»

A last kiss, Armin's fingers slide from his arm and the boy disappears inside the cafe. Eren looks at him talking with the mother and then turns around to go back home.

He doesn't even think about the fact that Armin's still wearing his sweater.

 

«Will you teach me Braille?»

Armin turns his head a little, his body relaxed on top of Eren's; his fingers are slowly massaging his scalp, and he was just about to fall asleep. «Don't you have to study for school? Or, I don't know, piano?» he murmurs.

Eren's lips trace his jaw, smiling. «I want to learn it, tho. If you teach me, I promise I'll go study biology for the test.»

«Shouldn't you study for your test first, as it is the most important thing now?»

«Nope~ I just need a C and I'll be okay.»

«Lazy bastard.»

Eren gently slaps this nape, because while it's okay if he's using swear words, he doesn't like them coming from Armin's mouth -what if his mother thinks he's ruining him?-

«Seriously though, will you teach me? I'm curious about it, when you read to me it's like a completely new language.»

«It's not easy, Eren, y'know it?»

«Well, neither was admitting my feelings for you. Yet here we are.»

Armin blushes furiously and smacks his arm. «Cheesy. But you're right.»

He stands up and Eren groans when he mistakenly squeezes his hand with his butt -«You're not really complaining tho, are you?»- With half-open eyes he looks as the blind boy reaches his desk with an ease that always surprises him and starts rummaging through his stuff. When he comes back he has a slate, some paper sheets and a stylus between his hands.

«This is the stuff I use to write» he explains, plopping down on the bed. «This paper is heavier and thicker that the one you use. When I need to write, I open the slate, put the paper inside and then close it. That way, I know that it won't slip away while I write.»

He shows everything and Eren doesn't divert his attention for a single second. Armin then raises his stylus. «I use this to write the Braille alphabet. I guide myself with my fingers to find the first window and I press the stylus in the right place, thanks to the indentations that are inside.»

«Wow…» murmurs Eren, resting his head on Armin's shoulder. «You write backwards, right? Like you're mirroring it.»

«Yup. I found it confusing at first, because I had to remember how a letter is written when I'm reading and when I'm writing it I have to flip it. I guess it's more or less like when you learn the difference between the uppercase and lowercase letters.»

«Yeah, I think you could say that.»

Armin smiles and takes Eren's hand with his for a second, before he grips the slate and feels the surface. He reaches the first window on the right and presses the stylus to make a single point in the higher right corner. «This is the letter A.»

They go on like that for a while, Armin's voice is soothing and relaxing like always, and the way he explains is patient and calm. Eren feels like he's back to 1st grade, when he had to write the whole alphabet dozens and dozens of times until he knew each letter by heart. The pianist's fingers were soft and gentle between his brown locks, and so were his lips against his neck.

«I won't be able to finish, if you don't stop» Eren tells him, sliding an arm behind his back. He feels Armin's lips twist in a small smile. «Do you want me to stop?» he asks, and the brunette shakes his head. «There's your mother downstairs» he then adds, and Armin laughs. «We better be quiet then.»

Eren leaves the slate and stylus on the floor and reaches his sweet mouth, kissing him until he's got no more air in his lungs.

 

«So you're telling me that you crossed the road, almost got killed twice by cars, climbed up a tree and fell on the ground… to save the kitten?»

Eren winces when Anna presses some cotton with disinfectant on it against a large bruise on his cheek. His full body is sore, he's got mud hidden everywhere -Anna told him that no, his ears were clean, but he still feels them dirty- and he's sure that his butt is now completely purple from the fall. «Of course I did it» he mumbles, and Armin just sighs amused.

The kitten, the real culprit of the whole situation, is sitting comfortably on his legs.  _Lucky bastard_ , Eren thinks, and he's not sure if he's talking about the cat or about Armin.

«Next time try to get someone's help» Anna says, putting the first-aid kit aside. «And maybe don't run when you cross the road? It's the kitten that has nine lives, not you.»

«I've got a dumb boyfriend» Armin sings nuzzling his head against the cat's. the small animal meows and purrs contently, and Eren pouts. «At least you remember  _who'_ s your boyfriend in this room» he whines, and the other boy laughs. «What, are you jealous?»

«Infinitely» Eren exclaims, and Anna raises her hands in defeat. «I'm the Switzerland, let me get out of here before you start with your  _Bfs stuff_ » she says, and both boys laugh. «Mom, no one says "bfs stuff" aloud» Armin says, and she just shrugs.

Armin's smile gets softer after he hears the door closing, and he slowly gets down from the table reaching for Eren. «Where are you?»

«Left- no, my left. Your right. Yeah, here.»

Eren holds his forearm and pulls him closer, nuzzling his face against Armin's belly. He feels the kitten's tail gently slap his cheek, and then the boy's fingers are between his hair.

«Dummy.»

«Shush.»

«But it's true. You're my dummy.»

«Now I like it more. But my ass still hurts like hell.»

«You tell me.»

«Pig.»

«Hey, you started it» Armin laughs, petting his hair. Eren's arms are around his hips, fingers slowly caressing his thighs down to his knees.

«You're soft» he whispers, and Armin smiles. «Yeah. My boobs are growing.»

«You know, I thought you were the intelligent one.»

«I'm just teasing, Eren.»

« _You_ 're a tease.»

«Mh mh» the blind boy kisses his head. «You scared me, you know» he whispers. «When mom said that you were injured, I thought that you'd broken something.»

Eren caresses his hips and smiles, holding him closer. «I'm fine, really; you don't have to worry.»

«Yes, but I do it anyways» Armin sighs. «You and your hero complex. It's the firemen's job to save cats, not yours.»

«But I had to» Eren murmurs, looking at the small kitten purring against Armin's chest. «It looks like you. Cute and with blue eyes.»

The pianist smiles and his cheeks paint of a soft red. «I'm glad you saved him, then.»

Eren raises his head and gently kisses his mouth, smiling.

 

They hold hands every time they can; walking down the street for groceries, watching a movie on the couch or just laying down on the bed. Eren's hands are there when Armin needs to move in a place he's not familiar with, or just when they don't want to get separated. They are there when they make love and Armin's lost in his pleasure and thoughts and it's difficult for him to breathe properly, yet he tries to talk and call his name and beg for more. They're there when it's over and he's floating on the calming waves of sex, too tired to move a single finger.

Eren's lips kiss his temple and his arms gently cradle him, their fingers intertwined. Armin's face is relaxed, his eyes only half-open. It's raining outside, but the sound the drops make against the glass of the window is too relaxing to bother them.

«Are you okay?» the brunette asks, moving some strands of sweaty hair from his forehead. Armin moves his head against his shoulder and holds his hands. He feels safe, protected. Yet, he's scared. «I'm having a surgery in a week.»

Eren furrows his eyebrows and for a moment he stops caressing the pianist's tummy. «Surgery?»

«To the eyes» Armin explains, and his voice trembles a little. «It's been decided for months, now. We just had to wait for me to be eighteen.»

«Your birthday is tomorrow…»

«That's why I'm telling you this now. I'm sorry if I haven't said anything before, but… I was scared.»

«What scared you? Did I…»

«It's not  _you_  I'm scared about.»

Armin's grip on his hands tightens, and the boy gulps. «What… what will the world look like?» he whispers, and Eren understands.

Since he was little he'd been told to be afraid of darkness. It's where the monsters hide when you're eight, and then those demons move to your head when you're sixteen because you're just finding out that the grown-ups' world sucks, and darkness is so scary that it suffocates you, and no one can hear your screams.

Darkness is that scary bully that will always come to taunt you when it's night and there's no place to escape, Eren had learnt it the hard way.

But to Armin it was different. Darkness had been everything he'd ever known. It was his whole world, and having something so close to you, to see it being pulled away from your hands was probably the scariest thing he'd ever felt. He thought how he'd feel if he suddenly stopped seeing, once, after he'd just met Armin. The sole thought had almost made him feel sick.

«The world will be beautiful» Eren whispers at his hear, holding his hands just as tight. «And colorful, and full of light. You'll be able to give a face -a  _real_  one- to every person you've ever talked with, and everything that only has a name now will have a color and a shape. Everything you've only heard of, everything you've touched or felt… it'll all become reality.  _Your_ reality.»

«And what if it's only a dream?» Armin says, his voice cracking. «What if I think it's true but it's all just a dream and you're not real- and nothing is real.»

«I'll be there by your side» it's Eren's firm answer. «I'll be there to tell you that it's real, that you're real and we're real. It won't be just a dream.»

Armin sighs and Eren's lips meet his, kissing away all of his worries. His arms wrap around him in a way that he knows really well, but then Eren turns to the other side and the blind boy finds himself sitting on his lap. Eren's strong hands caress his hips and Armin knows he's smiling, that sweet smile that creates small dimples on the sides of his mouth.

«Eren…»

«I want you to take me» is Eren's answer, his hands moving to the pianist's chest. «I want to feel you like you always feel me, and show you that we're both here and we're alive and we'll always be here no matter what.»

Armin's hands tremble and his fists close on Eren's chest. «I… I don't know if I can. I don't know what to do» he stutters. «I'll guide you» Eren says to calm him down. «You trusted me the first time. Now I want to be the one to put my faith in you.»

His hands gently hold Armin's wrists and their fingers intertwine, and then their lips meet and Armin feels like he's home.

Once again their hands are together, their palms kissing. Love is messy like that, whenever Armin bends to kiss his mouth he ends up kissing Eren's cheek or his nose or ear, and Eren giggles and guides him to his lips.

He guides him in everything, teaching him how to move, never leaving his hand. His voice is soft and only slightly higher than usual,  _yeah, like that, ah, again_. And Armin does it again and again, and for once he thanks his blindness because the way Eren feels is so intense that he feels like he might faint and his touch is everywhere and it burns his skin and one second he's alive and the next one he's slowly fading, his mind drifting away.

Eren's hands hold him closer and caress his hair and back, he's still trembling. Armin snuggles up to him and the brunette kisses his temple, his cheek, the tip of his nose. Then, finally, his lips. Armin smiles and holds his hands, hugging his waist with his legs. «I love you» he whispers against his neck. Eren caresses his cheek and kisses him once more. «I love you too.»

 

The night before the surgery, Armin calls him on the telephone. His voice trembles and is low, and Eren doesn't need to ask if he's crying because he knows he is. The blind boy doesn't even manage to say that he's sorry for calling at such a late hour, that Eren interrupts him by saying «Keep talking, I'll be there in ten minutes.»

Armin whispers a soft "thank you" and starts talking about the most random things happened during the day. He talks about the book he read that morning, and that Mr. Purr -the kitten that Eren had saved two months before- had ruined one of his favorite t-shirts. By the time he stops talking about Mr. Purr, Eren's got dressed and is running to the café. «I'm outside» he says ringing the bell. The door swings open immediately and slender hands reach for him, holding his arm.

Eren quickly gets inside and hugs Armin, feeling him tremble and whisper "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The brunette shakes his head and kisses his forehead, caressing his back. «It's okay, I'm here.»

Armin's cheeks are wet with tears, and his eyes are wide open. «I was okay but then I thought about tomorrow and I realized that I'm not ready and I don't know if I'll be able to do it…»

«Hey, hey. It's okay» Eren gently wipes his cheeks and kisses him, drawing small circles on his skin with his thumbs. The blind boy hugs his waist and slowly stops trembling, his grip on Eren's t-shirt gets loose and he finally stops crying.

«There» Eren smiles and caresses his hair, and Armin's lips form a small smile. «I'm sorry for the hour… I just didn't know what to do and mom's not home yet…» he says shyly. Eren shakes his head. «As I said, it's okay. You don't have to worry about it.»

Armin sighs and hugs him again. «Can we… go upstairs? I haven't eaten yet, I think there's something wrong with the microwave» he says, and the brunette nods. «Of course, baby. C'mon.»

He slowly guides the boy inside and smiles when he sees his cheeks flushed for the nickname. «I'm not a baby. I'm eighteen now» he mumbles, and Eren laughs. «You'll always be  _my_ baby, though. C'mon now, I thought you were hungry.»

«I  _am_  hungry. Dummy.»

«Mh mh.»

Armin leans against the counter in the kitchen and Eren gently presses their lips together, wiping away his pout. The pianist's arms wrap around his neck and pull him closer, sighing when Eren's tongue brushes against his lower lip.

«You taste sweet» he whispers when Eren moves to kiss his forehead. «I ate chocolate earlier» he grins, checking the microwave behind Armin. «Alright, it should work now. It wasn't plugged in properly.»

«Mh mh…»

Armin hugs him and gently kisses his jaw, making him shiver. Eren puts his hands onto the boy's hips, holding them a little too strong. «Baby…» he calls, and he feels the pianist's lips curl in a pout. «I'm… sorry… I just need to think about something different than tomorrow. Or not think at all.»

«What about we think about dinner? I won't let you eat some heated left-overs for today, you need to put some fat in these skinny arms» Eren proposes, poking his forearm.

Armin smiles. «You cook? Really?»

«Just because it's my mom that cooks every time you come over, it doesn't mean that I can't» Eren whines. «I can make perfect omelets and scrambled eggs, you know?»

«I'll have some scrambled eggs, then.»

Armin smiles softly and listens to Eren moving around in the kitchen, swearing every now and then when he almost drops the eggs and when he hits an elbow against the counter. After a while the pianist stands up and reaches him, touching the counter until he finds his hip. Eren stiffens a little, surprised, but then he immediately relaxes when he feels Armin's warm chest against his back. «Thank you. For being here» the boy whispers at his ear.

Eren turns his head and kisses his cheek, smiling. «It's nothing. I can stay here for the night if you want. I haven't had a sleepover in ages.»

«Liar. We had one last Sunday.»

«It's not a sleepover if we  _don't_  sleep.»

«Why do you always jinx everything cute I say?»

«'Cos it's my job! You're the cute one, and I'm the asshole.»

«You're a cute asshole, then. Give me a kiss, now.»

«As you wish, cutie one.»

Eren gently kisses him on the lips and Armin smiles. «Check the eggs, chef» he says after a while. «It smells funny.»

«Shit» Eren turns back to the counter and turns the eggs around in the pan while the blind boy laughs.

They eat silently. Armin's hand trapped in Eren's. and maybe it's a little uncomfortable to eat with his non-dominant hand, but it's okay.

When they lie onto Armin's bed, the brunette's arms wrapped around him, he finally feels safe.

 

His hands are sweaty and warm, and Eren's is probably getting wet in his strong grip. Armin's instinct tells him to just raise his free hand and tear down the bandage around his eyes, but every time Eren sees him move in a suspect way, he's quick to grab his wrist and tell him to just be patient, it's only ten more minutes, don't jinx it now.

Armin yelled once, telling him to just shut the fuck up. He apologized immediately, though. He's just way too nervous, and excited, and scared.  _Only seven more minutes_  and he'll be able to see for real.

The nurse finally calls his name and Armin stands up- Eren's grip as strong as possible. He doesn't tremble anymore. Funny.

The doctor makes him sit on an uncomfortable chair. Eren has to leave his hand but he stays in the room, he can feel him; the way he nervously taps a foot on the floor, his breathing, the smell of his shampoo fading as the stronger odors of the study take over him.

He can't wait to get back home and make love. The result doesn't matter, even if he'll end up not seeing it'll be okay. He doesn't care about it anymore, because he'll still be able to track Eren's body and draw the strong line of his jaw without even knowing how a jaw actually  _looks_ like.

It's okay, he thinks as the doctor removes the bandages. You're strong, and you've got nothing to fear.

They tell him to wait and he hears people moving. Eren's hands are on his knees now. When he's told to, he slowly opens his eyes.

It's just darkness at first, and for a second his self-confidence trembles. Then shadows, some light spots, and the objects around him start to get their own shape.

His hands twitch and when he lowers his head he sees his slender and pale fingers move. He feels his cheeks get wet and only then he realizes he's crying, and a hand -darker than his, and larger- reaches for the tears on his skin.

«Armin?»

The boy follows slowly the arm attached to that hand, he reaches a shoulder and then, a face. When that face talks with Eren's voice, Armin can't hold it anymore. His laugh is quiet at first, and then grows louder and louder until he has no more air in his lungs, and tears are now running freely down his cheeks.

«Hey, hey» Eren laughs as well and hugs, him, and Armin starts breathing again and sobs and holds onto him with the biggest smile painted onto his face. He raises his hands and touches Eren's features, because he's  _real_ and he's there and he can  _see_  him now. He doesn't even know what the color of his eyes is, but he's sure it's the color of hope.

«Armin» Eren calls, holding his face. Armin's eyes twitch on him once again, he scrunches his nose in the cutest way possible, and he can't stop grinning like the small, cute idiot he is.

«Welcome in this world, Armin.»

And he's sure that hope has never  _looked_  so good.


End file.
